The blogger who served the most time in prison has gone missing again. Kareem Amer was a brave blogger who spoke out against Egyptian treatment of Christians and women and registered dismay at the religion he grew up with, Islam. He was arrested and served four years, much of which was characterized by beatings and other mistreatment. He was finally released in November. He went missing on Sunday evening in Cairo.
According to Cyberdissidents.org, of which Kareem was a member, he exited Tahrir Square at about 11:00 p.m. local time with a friend and has not been heard from since.
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“They were warned not to go through Kasr Elnil because of ambushes and arrests there. It is not known if they used that exit, but Kareem and his friend have not been heard from since. Their phones are off and they are not in their apartments.”
Wael Ghonim, the head of marketing for Google in the region, was recently released after a week in prison incommunicado. It turns out Ghonim was behind the Facebook page that arranged the protests, We are all Khaled Said.
Given the high profile that Kareem has due to the constant external pressure put on the Egyptian government on his behalf, it may be he was abducted on political grounds, the same as Ghonim. However, given how fearless Kareem was in criticizing Islam and his country, it may have been opportunity and revenge based. Either way, he is in grave danger.
Cyberdissidents encourage anyone concerned to contact the nearest Egyptian embassy and inquire after him.
Disclosure: MidEast Youth, the umbrella group for the Free Kareem organization, provided server space for the Committee to Protect Bloggers, which I founded. I have also worked with them briefly on other projects.
Kareem in jail photo via Free Kareem | second Kareem photo from Cyberdissidents | other sources: The Next Web
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